CALEA Update Magazine | Issue 95

Communications Open Channel

Editorial Note: As a CALEA Partner, APCO International pens the Communications Open Channel column, which focuses on topics of interest to our clients, particularly those in the Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program.

APCO has proudly watched with great anticipation the steady growth of the CALEA Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program. From Northwest Bergen (NJ) Central Dispatch, which was the first CALEA Accredited communications center over six years ago, to the most recently accredited, Citrus County (FL) Sheriff’s Office – Communications Center, the number of accredited agencies stands at 47 as of August 2007. The Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program (PSCAP) signifies professional excellence, and professional excellence in our nation’s public safety communications centers equates to better services to our citizens. We believe that should be our primary goal.

Meeting the 218 standards which make up the PSCAP is no easy task. It requires the special knowledge and skills of professional managers. APCO, like CALEA, understands the important role that professional managers play in the management and operations of modern emergency communications centers and also how high quality contemporary training can prepare and develop our leaders of tomorrow. APCO’s 73rd Annual Conference and Exposition, which was held during August 2007 in Baltimore, with over 6,500 public safety professionals in attendance, and over 450 exhibitors, proved to be the perfect backdrop to unveil APCO’s latest professional development program, the APCO Institute Leadership Certificate Program.

The APCO Institute Leadership Certificate Program is designed to train and empower future public safety communications leaders. By actively cultivating future leaders, the public safety industry, APCO International, CALEA, and most important of all, our citizens, will reap many benefits.

Whether you are a call taker, dispatcher, leader of a work team, or a manager of an emergency public safety communications center, there are certain things which are important to know, and skills which must be developed in order to be successful. The APCO Institute Leadership Certificate Program is designed to prepare future leaders for the challenges and opportunities of leadership.

The APCO Institute Leadership Certificate Program is a comprehensive 12-month online program leading to the professional designation of Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL). RPL recipients receive a certificate of acceptance into the APCO Institute Registry of Public-Safety Leaders, a formal and prestigious acknowledgment of excellence within our industry. During its 73rd Annual Conference, APCO was very proud to bestow the title of Registered Public-Safety Leader to 36 of our members who have successfully completed the program.

In “Improving Leadership Effectiveness,” Fred Fiedler and Martin Chemers wrote that “The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.” The future of public safety and APCO International will be greatly influenced by those who have made a commitment to its leadership. APCO training in one way or another touches almost every element of the CALEA PSCAP standards. APCO is committed to continued support of the CALEA Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program. APCO Institute is currently working in partnership with CALEA to develop additional training opportunities for Public Safety Communications agencies in CALEA’s Accreditation Process, and will continue to explore ways in which we can help prepare our nation’s emergency communications centers for the challenge of accreditation.